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False Alarm Program in Effect in Wheeling

WHEELING — Beginning in October, Wheeling residents and businesses will be required to register their burglar alarms or face fines, the result of an ordinance passed last fall adopting fees for responding to false alarms.

The online registration process, with a third party company, is now open and free of charge. After Oct. 1, unregistered alarms can result in a fine of $100 and failure to renew every year will result in a $25 fine. False alarms after the first incident will result in fines as well.

Cry Wolf Services will manage the database and fine system for the new ordinance. Residents and business owners can register for free online and they may contact the Wheeling Police Department at 304-234-3675 for assistance.

There is no fine for the first offense. For a second offense, the resident may take an “alarm school” class to have the fee waived. Third and fourth offenses are a $200 fine; fifth and sixth offenses are $200; seventh and eighth are $300; nine plus offenses are a $400 fine.

According to the Wheeling Police Department, in 2012, 99 percent of all burglar alarm calls in Wheeling turned out to be false alarms. That year, the Wheeling PD responded to 1,373 burglar alarm calls — 1,366 of them were false, and that trend appears to be climbing every year. Many addresses in the area have five or more false alarm calls per year.

The ordinance includes burglar alarms both monitored and unmonitored as well as audible and inaudible. Other types of alarms such as Life Alert, fire and car alarms need not be registered.

“The big part of this is, our officers do respond to a lot of alarms on a daily basis, this will hopefully enable our officers to focus more on patrol, rather than sending two units to every alarm we receive,” said Special Operations Commander Lt. Phil Redford. “Every alarm will be treated as an actual alarm, but this is a process so that people can learn to use their alarms properly or fix any that are malfunctioning.”

According to Redford, many times a false alarm results from user error, like not knowing the code, or device malfunction including a loose alarm or control panel. With the help of this new system, officers will have the information needed to contact a keyholder right away when they respond to a burglar alarm call. Residents are responsible for contacting their alarm company if they have a malfunctioning alarm, but Wheeling police hope that this new system will help hold those companies accountable.

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